Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant cannot join the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains that for the last four years he has been trying to join the housing register. He says the Council has not properly assessed his applications. Mr X has had discussions about adopting a child but says he cannot do so until he is adequately housed.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the letters the Council sent to Mr X about his housing applications. I considered his housing applications and some of the case notes. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

Back to top

What I found

Housing allocations policy

4. The policy says people can only join the housing register if they have a housing need as defined by the policy. People can join the register if they live in overcrowded accommodation. They can also join if they have been assessed and approved as foster or adoptive parents.

What happened

5. Mr X rents a one bedroom home. In 2017 he applied to join the housing register. On the application form he said his partner had lived with him, at his address, since 2010. Mr X also included his daughter in the application who was born in 2016. The Council approved the application because Mr X was overcrowded and lacked one bedroom.
6. The Council did a fraud investigation in 2017 because it found out Mr X was claiming the council tax discount for living alone. The Council interviewed Mr X. The notes say that Mr X stated his partner had never lived with him and they had split up. He said his daughter stayed with him three nights a week.
7. The Council ended the housing application because Mr X had no housing need. This was because he was living alone in a one bedroom flat.
8. Mr X made a new application in 2020. He included his partner and daughter and said they both lived at another address. He said his partner had lived at that address since 1978. He applied on the grounds of adoption/fostering and overcrowding.
9. The Council refused the application because Mr X lives in a one bedroom flat and is not overcrowded. The Council also explained he did not qualify under the adoption rules because he is not approved for fostering or adoption.
10. The Council says Mr X has recently submitted another housing application in which he has included his partner and child. The Council says it could not assess the application because it was incomplete.
11. Mr X says he has been trying to join the housing register for four years but the Council has not assessed the applications correctly.

Assessment

12. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council placed Mr X on the housing register in 2017 because Mr X said his partner and child were living with him. The Council then ended the application when Mr X said his partner had never lived with him and they had split up.
13. The Council rejected the 2020 application because the information provided by Mr X showed that he lives alone and there is no evidence he has been approved for adoption. Mr X wants a larger home so they can live as a family. However, he cannot claim an overcrowding status because he lives alone, the partner receives the child benefit, and his daughter stays with Mr X for less than 50% of the week. The decisions made by the Council are consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
14. I cannot comment on the latest application because it was incomplete. Mr X would need to contact the Council to see what additional information he needs to submit.

Back to top

Final decision

15. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman